The present invention is related to transferring packets to a memory so the packets cannot stagnate. More specifically, the present invention is related to transferring packets to a memory from an accumulation mechanism which prevents any packet in the accumulation mechanism from remaining indefinitely in the accumulation mechanism.
In the Wide TDM architecture of the Memory Controller, caches are used to accumulate large pieces of data going to the same destination. These large pieces of data allow efficient use of a wide shared memory while keeping data going to the same destination together. A potential problem arises in the case that a continuous stream of data is not flowing to guarantee that each cache is able to accumulate enough data to form an entire cache word. A switch which stripes data onto multiple fabrics and sends parity data to another fabric has been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/333,450, incorporated by reference herein. See also U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/293,563 which describes a wide memory TDM switching system, incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention pertains to an apparatus for transferring packets. The apparatus comprises a memory. The apparatus comprises an accumulation mechanism in which packets are stored until they are to be placed in the memory. The accumulation mechanism is connected to the memory. The apparatus comprises a controller connected to the memory and the accumulation mechanism which controls when packets in the accumulation mechanism are transferred to the memory. The controller preventing any packet in the accumulation mechanism from remaining in the accumulation mechanism indefinitely.
The present invention pertains to a method for transferring packets. The method comprises the steps of receiving packets at an accumulation mechanism. Then there is the step of controlling when packets in the accumulation mechanism are transferred to a memory by a controller. Next there is the step of preventing with the controller any packet in the accumulation mechanism from remaining in the accumulation mechanism indefinitely. Then there is the step of transferring packets from the accumulation mechanism to a memory.